$2.3b purchase

NESTLE is buying Canadian vitamin maker Atrium Innovations for $2.3 billion, expanding its presence in consumer healthcare as it seeks to offset weakness in packaged foods.

The world's largest packaged food company said on Tuesday it will buy the maker of vitamins, probiotics and meal replacements from a group of investors led by Permira Funds.

About 80 per cent of Atrium's sales come from the United States, meaning there is still room to buy businesses elsewhere, such as the vitamins unit being sold by Germany's Merck, which has a large presence in emerging markets and is also being looked at by Nestle.